Presented by Ross Leadership Institute, these lectures bring together proven leaders who provide focused responses to critical leadership needs to help to coordinating and guiding an organization's overall leadership development efforts.

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Tara Marling Abraham, Chairman and Co-CEO of Accel, Inc., is one of the nation’s leading experts in contract packaging. A strategist and experienced entrepreneur, Ms. Abraham advances innovation throughout the businesses she has established and grown, as well as professional and industry groups to which she dedicates time. Her combined expertise in finance, marketing, relationship management, supplier diversity, and mergers & acquisitions has made her a leader within the retail and consumer packaged goods industries.

Douglas F. Kridler is the fifth president of The Columbus Foundation, a community foundation serving the central Ohio region since 1943. In 2016, the Foundation awarded $205.8 million in grants to more than 3,300 charitable organizations in such fields as education, health, social services, community development, urban affairs, and the arts. As of 12/31/16, the Foundation’s assets totaled $2.01 billion.

Craig Marshall is an assurance partner and Ernst & Young’s Columbus Office Managing Partner, a position he has held since spring 2008. He has more than 25 years of experience serving the manufacturing and service industries. Much of his experience involves SEC reporting and multinational and multi location manufacturers. He previously served as the Ohio Valley Risk Advisory Services Cluster Leader.

Pat Tiberi is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee that has jurisdiction over tax issues, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and trade agreements. He currently is the chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health where he is working to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of healthcare. He also serves on the Subcommittee on Tax Policy.

As Director of Community Engagement for Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Cheney leads the development of strategic partnerships, major events and sponsorships to retain and grow its membership.

Cheney has received the Business First of Columbus 40 Under Forty Award; the Smart Business Magazine Breakthrough Business Leader Award; the Women Presidents’ Organization Women Empowering Women Award; the National Council of Negro Women Columbus Chapter Community Leadership Award; and was recognized by Women for Economic & Leadership Development (WELD) as a Woman You Should Know honoree.

Tom Feeney became president and CEO of Safelite Group on July 1, 2008 and immediately introduced a new vision for Safelite supported by two core principles: “People First, Customer Delight,” which have since evolved to “People Powered, Customer Driven.” As a result, the company has doubled with plans to continue growth through a new “Nationally Powered, Locally Driven” approach.

Since January 2007, Mr. Worley has served as President/Chief Executive Officer of Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) and Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation. In this role, Mr. Worley is focused on the redevelopment and revitalization of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Some of his city-changing projects include the renovation of the Lazarus Building into 700,000 square feet of office space, the redevelopment of the former City Center Mall site now known as Columbus Commons, the creation of the Scioto Mile, Columbus’ riverfront park, and the restoration of the Scioto River.

A passionate advocate of community service, Michelle launched the Columbus chapter of Bad Girl Ventures, a non-profit organization focused on funding woman-owned startups in the Greater Ohio region, serves on the Small Business Council for the Columbus Chamber, is the former board President of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Franklin County and volunteers for numerous community organizations. She currently serves on the Otterbein University Women’s Leadership Network Advisory Council.

J. Daniel Good, Ph.D. (Dan Good) is the Superintendent of Columbus City Schools, Ohio’s largest school district, serving more than 52,000 students located in 110 schools. He was appointed to the position by the Columbus Board of Education in 2013 and has led the District to impressive academic gains in early education, grade-level literacy, and post-secondary opportunities for graduates.

Tracy Maxwell Heard, a former Democratic Leader of the Ohio House of Representatives is the President of Millennium Solutions, Inc., a public policy, business and non-profit development firm with a specialization in social enterprise development.

David Blom has been instrumental in the development and growth of the OhioHealth system. He has served as President of OhioHealth’s central Ohio hospitals – Grant Medical Center, Riverside Methodist Hospital and Doctors Hospital – while also serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of OhioHealth. He was named President and CEO of OhioHealth in March 2002. He has a track record of achievement with a solid understanding of complex issues facing healthcare delivery. He has expertise in leading strategic initiatives, managing and developing human capital, improving profitability, and improving quality of care and customer experience.

Al is currently Head of METTLER TOLEDO North America where he and his team are responsible for all sales, marketing, customer support, and filed service operations in the US and Canada. He joined METTLER TOLEDO in 2000 as the General Manger of the US Industrial Division Market Organization

On January 1, 2003, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority was created to oversee the operations of Port Columbus International, Rickenbacker International, and Bolton Field Airports and Roberts was named President & CEO. She was named Executive Director of the Columbus Airport Authority, CRAA's predecessor, December 18, 2000, and prior to that was Executive Director for six years of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation which operates T. F. Green (Providence) Airport and five other state-owned airports. Roberts began her airport management career with the Indianapolis Airport Authority in 1983 where she served for 12 years.

Cathy M. Lyttle joined Worthington Industries in January of 1999 as vice president of corporate communications. Lyttle is responsible for internal and external communications, corporate philanthropy through the Worthington Industries Foundation, government relations, and marketing for the Company. In 2009, she also became the Investor Relations Officer.

Pastor Vaughn Bell is the Lead Pastor of the Triumphant Church of God in Westerville, Ohio. Pastor Bell’s ministry and civic involvement includes being a member of the Governing Board of the Ohio Ministries of the Church of God, a member of the Central District Credentials Committee, and the current president of the Westerville Area Ministerial Association and the Westerville African American Parent Association.

Since 1916, the City of Westerville has operated under a Council-Manager style of government establishing City Council as the legislative and executive body and provides for professional management through an appointed administrator who currently is David Collinsworth.

There are multiple common threads between championship football teams and high performance organizations. Many of the high-impact strategies of America's most successful football coaches can be adapted to improve an organization's performance. Successes on the gridiron and in the boardroom are often enhanced by similar tactics.

Gracious Leadership...Is it soft or strategic? This session will explore the attributes of gracious leaders and will include specific examples of how organizational performance can be optimized when leaders are gracious in "how" they lead.

Jane Grote Abell, chairwoman of the board of Donatos, shares key insight from her four decades of experience growing a small pizza shop on the south side of Columbus into a business that eventually sold to the biggest restaurant company in the world.

Dr. Lowery comes to FutureReady Columbus from the Maryland State Department of Education, where she served as state superintendent of schools. Under her leadership, Maryland has consistently finished among the nation’s top performing state school systems, according to Education Week’s Quality Counts, the most comprehensive assessment of the state of American education.

Have you ever known a leader or top executive who has got “it?” Well “it” is executive presence, and having “it” is the difference between moving up the ladder to leadership and being stuck on the middle rung. So have you got “it?”

What key elements are needed to build leaders for today's ever changing, global world? Leaders today need to know themselves and their strengths and be very adaptable to change. Join us to discover more ways to mentor and coach tomorrow's leaders.